ducks
06-12-2005, 06:53 PM
Horry, owner of five rings, never wanted to be the star
By T.A. BADGER, Associated Press Writer
June 11, 2005
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- With five championship rings in his collection, it's hard to argue with Robert Horry's success as a role player in the NBA.
But early in his career with Houston, where he won titles in 1994 and 1995, there was talk of Horry as a star in the making.
After all, he was a 6-foot-10 forward with the strength and quickness to score inside and the shooting touch to hurt opponents from the perimeter.
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Horry said Saturday that, rather than striving for individual achievement, he chose to adapt his game to the needs of his team.
``I'm just happy doing my role,'' said Horry, now in his 13th pro season. ``I'm not going to try to be one of these players that step out and put a team on my back. I just like playing basketball and having fun with my guys.''
His best year in the league came in 1995-96, his last season with Houston, when he averaged 12 points, 5.8 rebounds, four assists and nearly two steals.
After that season, he was dealt to Phoenix in the deal that brought Charles Barkley to Houston. In early 1997, he was traded again -- this time to the Los Angeles Lakers, where as a reserve he picked up three more titles on teams led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Horry has averaged 7.5 points and five rebounds in the NBA, but he has played in the postseason every year.
Now he's three wins away from being on his sixth championship team, though he expects some will discount his career because of the superstars he's played with.
``You're going to have someone who says, 'Oh, he had Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon), oh, he had Shaq and Kobe, oh he had Tim (Duncan) and this guy, he had Clyde (Drexler), he had all these Hall of Famers around him,''' Horry said.
``But you know, if you look at it, it's like 'Hey, you know, but you always need somebody to be an Indian. Everybody can't be chiefs.''
MR. TOUGH GUY
The Detroit Pistons' offense begins with Chauncey Billups, and in Game 1, it often ended with him, too.
Billups was the only Piston to make more shots (9-for-16) than he missed in Sunday night's 84-69 loss, and his 25 points equaled that of Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace combined. And he did more than score, contributing six of his team's playoff-low 15 assists.
``I love the challenge, I love the stage,'' he said of stepping up in the Finals. ``It's the biggest stage you could possibly be on.''
Billups said the rest of the Pistons have to join him on stage, and that he's willing to get vocal with his teammates if that's what it takes.
``That's what a leader does, that's what a leader has to be -- a guy that recognizes certain situations and says, 'OK, we have to exploit this or we have to do this,''' he said. ``Sometimes people don't like it, you know what I saying, but that's who you have to be.''
Billups is by nature a shoot-first point guard, but he's altered his game under Detroit coach Larry Brown. This season he averaged a career-best 5.8 assists to go with his 16.5 points per game.
``I've learned how to get people involved, and know when to just take it over offensively and when to step back and say 'OK, it's your turn,''' he said. ``I think that's very important coming into this next game.''
INTERNATIONAL GAME
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, the breakout star of Game 1, said the NBA has evolved globally to the point where players shouldn't be viewed as domestic or international.
The star guard from Argentina said there's no difference between him and any American-born guy in hightops and baggy shorts.
``I feel the same way as Bruce Bowen or Rip Hamilton,'' said Ginobili, who scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the final quarter. ``I'm a player in this league trying to make my team win. So you don't really care where you come from -- you are just a player and you try to help your team as well as you can.''
The Spurs' top three players are all from abroad -- Duncan (Virgin Islands), Tony Parker (France) and Ginobili. Two others come off the bench -- Rasho Nesterovic and rookie Beno Udrih, both from Slovenia.
Ginobili, now in his third season with San Antonio after several standout years playing in Italy, said he struggled at times as a rookie to figure out where he fit into the Spurs.
``But once the second season started, I felt a little more comfortable and being able to talk more to my teammates and my coach to understand what they want, and I started feeling like I belonged here,'' he said.
After Saturday's media session, Ginobili was trailed off the SBC Center floor by a group of Spanish- and Italian-speaking reporters eagerly asking more questions.
ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE
The NBA's media office had podiums and microphones set up Saturday in each of the four corners of the SBC Center court.
When it was Detroit's mandatory turn to talk with reporters, Billups went to one corner, Tayshaun Prince to another and Antonio McDyess to a third. The fourth podium was assigned to Rasheed Wallace.
But like often occurred in Game 1, Wallace (six points, all in the first quarter) didn't make it to his spot on the floor.
Oh, he got close. He sat in a chair a few feet away from a large group of journalists waiting for him and played with a handheld Playstation II video game.
He did speak to a Boston radio reporter who was apparently an old friend, but everyone else was completely ignored.
``They're just going to ask the same (expletive) questions they ask all the time,'' Wallace was overheard saying to his pal. ``I been answering those questions all season.''
After about 20 minutes, Wallace got up and walked back toward the Detroit locker room. A league media crew then unhooked the microphone and carted off the podium and blue backdrop with the NBA logo.
Neither Billups, Prince nor McDyess followed Wallace's example -- they each remained in their corner and fielded questions that they too had likely been answering all season.
By T.A. BADGER, Associated Press Writer
June 11, 2005
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- With five championship rings in his collection, it's hard to argue with Robert Horry's success as a role player in the NBA.
But early in his career with Houston, where he won titles in 1994 and 1995, there was talk of Horry as a star in the making.
After all, he was a 6-foot-10 forward with the strength and quickness to score inside and the shooting touch to hurt opponents from the perimeter.
ADVERTISEMENT
Horry said Saturday that, rather than striving for individual achievement, he chose to adapt his game to the needs of his team.
``I'm just happy doing my role,'' said Horry, now in his 13th pro season. ``I'm not going to try to be one of these players that step out and put a team on my back. I just like playing basketball and having fun with my guys.''
His best year in the league came in 1995-96, his last season with Houston, when he averaged 12 points, 5.8 rebounds, four assists and nearly two steals.
After that season, he was dealt to Phoenix in the deal that brought Charles Barkley to Houston. In early 1997, he was traded again -- this time to the Los Angeles Lakers, where as a reserve he picked up three more titles on teams led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Horry has averaged 7.5 points and five rebounds in the NBA, but he has played in the postseason every year.
Now he's three wins away from being on his sixth championship team, though he expects some will discount his career because of the superstars he's played with.
``You're going to have someone who says, 'Oh, he had Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon), oh, he had Shaq and Kobe, oh he had Tim (Duncan) and this guy, he had Clyde (Drexler), he had all these Hall of Famers around him,''' Horry said.
``But you know, if you look at it, it's like 'Hey, you know, but you always need somebody to be an Indian. Everybody can't be chiefs.''
MR. TOUGH GUY
The Detroit Pistons' offense begins with Chauncey Billups, and in Game 1, it often ended with him, too.
Billups was the only Piston to make more shots (9-for-16) than he missed in Sunday night's 84-69 loss, and his 25 points equaled that of Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace combined. And he did more than score, contributing six of his team's playoff-low 15 assists.
``I love the challenge, I love the stage,'' he said of stepping up in the Finals. ``It's the biggest stage you could possibly be on.''
Billups said the rest of the Pistons have to join him on stage, and that he's willing to get vocal with his teammates if that's what it takes.
``That's what a leader does, that's what a leader has to be -- a guy that recognizes certain situations and says, 'OK, we have to exploit this or we have to do this,''' he said. ``Sometimes people don't like it, you know what I saying, but that's who you have to be.''
Billups is by nature a shoot-first point guard, but he's altered his game under Detroit coach Larry Brown. This season he averaged a career-best 5.8 assists to go with his 16.5 points per game.
``I've learned how to get people involved, and know when to just take it over offensively and when to step back and say 'OK, it's your turn,''' he said. ``I think that's very important coming into this next game.''
INTERNATIONAL GAME
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, the breakout star of Game 1, said the NBA has evolved globally to the point where players shouldn't be viewed as domestic or international.
The star guard from Argentina said there's no difference between him and any American-born guy in hightops and baggy shorts.
``I feel the same way as Bruce Bowen or Rip Hamilton,'' said Ginobili, who scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the final quarter. ``I'm a player in this league trying to make my team win. So you don't really care where you come from -- you are just a player and you try to help your team as well as you can.''
The Spurs' top three players are all from abroad -- Duncan (Virgin Islands), Tony Parker (France) and Ginobili. Two others come off the bench -- Rasho Nesterovic and rookie Beno Udrih, both from Slovenia.
Ginobili, now in his third season with San Antonio after several standout years playing in Italy, said he struggled at times as a rookie to figure out where he fit into the Spurs.
``But once the second season started, I felt a little more comfortable and being able to talk more to my teammates and my coach to understand what they want, and I started feeling like I belonged here,'' he said.
After Saturday's media session, Ginobili was trailed off the SBC Center floor by a group of Spanish- and Italian-speaking reporters eagerly asking more questions.
ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE
The NBA's media office had podiums and microphones set up Saturday in each of the four corners of the SBC Center court.
When it was Detroit's mandatory turn to talk with reporters, Billups went to one corner, Tayshaun Prince to another and Antonio McDyess to a third. The fourth podium was assigned to Rasheed Wallace.
But like often occurred in Game 1, Wallace (six points, all in the first quarter) didn't make it to his spot on the floor.
Oh, he got close. He sat in a chair a few feet away from a large group of journalists waiting for him and played with a handheld Playstation II video game.
He did speak to a Boston radio reporter who was apparently an old friend, but everyone else was completely ignored.
``They're just going to ask the same (expletive) questions they ask all the time,'' Wallace was overheard saying to his pal. ``I been answering those questions all season.''
After about 20 minutes, Wallace got up and walked back toward the Detroit locker room. A league media crew then unhooked the microphone and carted off the podium and blue backdrop with the NBA logo.
Neither Billups, Prince nor McDyess followed Wallace's example -- they each remained in their corner and fielded questions that they too had likely been answering all season.